Beginnings
by Ronniekinns
Summary: Lily's first day at school. Includes snobby!Sirius, tempermental!Fabian, Prefect!Gideon, quiet!Remus, and best-friends!James & Peter. Written as a response to the Gen(eral) ficathon on LJ.


**Title:** Beginnings

**Written for:** jetamors' challenge for the Gen(eral) Ficathon: _Write a fic about Lily's first day (or first few days) at Hogwarts. Condition: She loses points for something._

**Word Count:** 5307

**A/N:** I'm not very proud of this fic, and I think it shows. winces

Thanks to Gehayi for the beta! Any mistakes made are entirely mine.

Beginnings 

_Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters,_ Lily chanted in her head. She checked her ticket for the hundredth time that day, just to make sure that the place where she was supposed to get on the train to her new school wasn't Platform Ten and Three-Quarters, or Platform Nine and One-Half. There it was again: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

"Here we are!" said Lily's mother rather breathlessly, dragging a pouting Petunia who wanted some of those cookies, Mummy! They stood between platforms nine and ten. Lily couldn't see any obvious way to get in to the wall connecting them, so she walked up closer and felt the bricks. They were solid.

"You do know how to get in, don't you?" Lily's mother started panicking. "Didn't the letter tell you how to?

Lily quickly rummaged through her small backpack. "I think so" It wasn't in the front pocket_I thought I had put it there_

Petunia began to whine. "Mummy, can I have one of those

"Petunia, please be quiet, or else I won't be able to get on the train!" Lily snapped. Where was that letter?! The seven-year-old recoiled.

"Mummy, Lily's being mean to me again

Looking very frazzled, their mother attempted to solve their argument. "Lily, apologize to your sister." Lily grunted a Ôsorry, Petunia.' "Petunia, you can have cookies when we get home." She looked at her oldest daughter. "Any luck?

"But Mummy, you promised you'd buy me some cookies if I stopped annoying Lily in the car

Mrs. Evans looked as if she would burst if she heard the word 'mummy' again. Mr. Evans answered his daughter in an attempt to keep his wife from exploding. "After Lily leaves, Petunia, I'll buy you two cookies. Just not now." Petunia stopped complaining, apparently pleased with her father's conviction.

Lily was just about to dump all the contents of her backpack out of her bag when she found it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lily quickly opened the envelope with contained her Hogwarts acceptance letter, her school supplies list, and the instructions for how to get into both Diagon Alley and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. After scanning the letter, she told her parents: "I think I have to walk through the wall.

Mrs. Evans looked horrified at the prospect. "Well, if you say so dear," she said tentatively.

"Well," said Lily, looking at her watch, which read five minutes to eleven. "I have to go, or I'll miss the train." Mrs. Evans approached her daughter and squeezed her tightly. Lily hugged her back, and then proceeded to her father. Next, Lily embraced her sister, who began to cry and wouldn't let Lily go until her mother made her.

Lily waved at her family. "Bye everyone! I'll come home for winter break, I promise!

She walked quickly towards the wall and hesitantly pushed her cart into it, just to make sure she wasn't really about to run into a brick wall. The cart went through the wall. With wonder, Lily walked through the rest of it hurriedly.

As she took in the scene before her, Lily pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

A large train that looked very old was spitting smoke into the air while more than one hundred people--not as much as there were in Diagon Alley, but still a lot--clustered around it, saying their last goodbyes to their children and siblings and nieces and nephews and grandchildren who were about to join Lily at Hogwarts. She wished that she could stay and listen to all their conversationsÑranging from Quidditch, that odd sport she had heard about that was played on broomsticks (so witches really do use brooms! Lily had thought triumphantly when she learned of it) to all the things they themselves had done while at HogwartsÑbut she didn't want to miss the train.

Lily got on it as quickly as she could, dragging her cart, which carried her trunk, right behind her. She wished she had packed less things, as it was very heavyÑMother was right again, Lily sighed as she passed various very full compartments, only stopping once she got to one that only had one occupant.

He seemed too young to be able to go to Hogwarts, or maybe it was just the way he held himself, as if he didn't want anyone to notice him. Once she got a closer look at his face, Lily thought the opposite: that he was too old to go to Hogwarts. The boy was tired, and it looked to her that he would always be that way. He was simply looking out the window at all the people when she came in.

"Mind if I sit here?" Lily asked, pointing to the seat across from him.

Surprised, the boy almost jumped out of his seat. Quickly, he looked up to see who she was and, appearing relieved, shook his head. Lily tried to haul her heavy trunk onto the train, knowing from the start that she would not be able to do it alone from her struggle with it before.

"Er, can you help me?" she asked the boy tentatively; she didn't usually like to ask for help from others. He nodded, and, after a few tries, they dragged the trunk into the compartment.

"Thanks," said Lily once she had gotten her luggage into place. "I'm Lily Evans. I'm going into my first year." She was very excited; maybe this boy would be her first friend! The few that she had managed to make at her other schools had never stayed with her for long, which was one of the many reasons that Lily was glad there was a reason for her not being popularÑshe didn't think she could stand being the only girl left without a partner in group projects for the rest of her life.

The boy introduced himself. "Remus Lupin, entering first year as well.

What an odd name, Lily thought as she took her seat. "Are you from a wizard family?" she asked him.

"Sort of," said Remus. "My mother is a Muggle, my dad is a wizard. I had to go to a Muggle school, though, since Mum didn't want me to be uneducated." He gave her a small smile.

"Oh," said Lily. "I'm Muggle-born; first witch in my family, at least to my knowledge. I was so surprised when I got my letter! My parents thought it was a prank, and they threw it away the first time, but the letters kept on coming and we decided to see what it was all about. And once we realized that it was real, my family and I were so excited.

"Yes, my family was excited and proud of me when I got my letter too. My dad thought that I might not be accepted into Hogwarts.

Lily was curious. "Why wouldn't you be?" she asked.

"See, even if one of your parents is a wizard or witchÑor even if both of them areÑit doesn't guarantee that you too will be one," Remus explained, then suddenly gazed out the window again. "Oh, look, the train is moving!

Lily quickly turned to the window too, and they watched Platform Nine and Three-Quarters speed away from them. Remus appeared to be content with the not-so-awkward silence between he; he wasn't much of a talker, anyway, Lily observed.

They sat in silence until the door to the compartment slid open and a bespectacled redhead who looked to be about fifteen stepped in. "Can I hide in here?

"Of course," said Lily and Remus in unison. They grinned, and Remus began to look a bit more comfortable.

Lily was curious. "What are you hiding from?" she asked him.

The boy sat down next to Remus, taking off his glasses and massaging his temples. "Another argument," he sighed. "The Blacks again. One of them--can't tell the sisters apart for my life, except for the blonde one, but these were the two dark-haired ones--said something to the other about wanting to introduce their cousin to people first, and the other one insisted on her introducing him, saying that his mother told her to, and then they just insulted each other until one of them hexed another. That's when I left." He smiled. "There's a reason they didn't make me a Prefect; I have no desire to interfere in the affairs of others. Fabian Prewett, by the way.

Fabian, whose name was even odder than Remus', Lily thought, stuck out his hand and both of them shook it. "I'm Lily Evans, and this is Remus Lupin," said Lily.

"I haven't seen you around before, so I'm assuming you're first years?" Lily and Remus nodded. "Oh, wonderful!" said Fabian excitedly. "I'll get to introduce two first years to Hogwarts. Gideon will be so jealous. That's my twin brother," he added. "The Prefect.

Fabian entertained the two first years for a while with stories about Hogwarts: which teachers to avoid Ôgetting pissed off' ("Never, ever, do anything that would make Professor McGonagall mad at you," Fabian advised); which classes were extremely boring ("History of Magic class is going to be the uninteresting experience of your life") and which were not ("Charms is always great, especially when we get to spend the entire class just working on spells we get within the first five minutes"); which rules were okay to break and which were not ("There's a reason they made a rule that says you can't go into the Forbidden ForestÑit's got to be the scariest place in the world"); and other things that Lily doubted she'd ever use but found interesting nonetheless.

They had been chatting for about an hour when a very angry-looking witch about Fabian's age stormed in dragging a stubborn boy behind her. The black-haired girl plopped him on the seat next to Lily. "And if she comes I here, I want you to say that you don't care what your mother says and that you're going to stay right where you are, all right?" The boy nodded, even though he looked like agreeing with whatever she said was the last thing he wanted to do. The girl left.

"Ah," said Fabian rather warily. "So you're the boy they're fighting about. Is it still going on?

The boyÑwho was also black-haired, Lily noticed, and wondered if he was the Black boy that Fabian had mentioned earlierÑnodded. He then said, with an air of superiority in his voice: "My name"Ñhe paused with such drama that Lily almost giggled, if she had been the type of person to giggle"is Sirius Black. Which family are you all from?

Lily, who thought this was the oddest question someone could ask her, said, "From the Evans family. My name is Lily," she said, hoping that his sour mood would brighten as they talked. Her hopes were not met.

"Evans? I've never heard of that family," he scoffed. Lily was about to say that of course he hadn't, she was Muggle-born, when he continued. "I'm assuming you are a Mudblood?

Fabian growled and reached for his wand while Remus just looked mildly shocked. "Now listen here, Black

"Why should I listen to you?" said Sirius indignantly. "You're just a Gryffindor, and a Prewett at that. In other words, you are worthless.

Fabian looked like he was about to kill Sirius, so Lily quickly interrupted his thoughts before he could. "What's a Mudblood?" she asked, hoping she hadn't said anything really stupid.

She had, or that was how she felt when Sirius laughed outright at her question. "She's so ignorant that she doesn't even know what she is!

Fabian tried to ignore him, though it was clearly taking all he had: his face was bright red. "It's a extremely rude term for Muggle-born. Only those too obsessed with ages of marrying their cousins in an attempt to keep themselves Ôclean' from all the Ôdirty' Muggle-borns and halfbloods will call others that." He glared at the dark-haired boy, who glared back.

Even though she didn't really understand why this was such a horrible thing to say to someone, Lilynodded at Fabian's explanation. Fabian turned to the boy again. "If you hate us so much, why don't you leave?

"Don't think I don't want to!" said Sirius fiercely. "Andromeda told me to stay here, though, and I'm not about to disobey anything she says.

"Fine then," fumed Fabian. "We'll just act like you're not here, since you obviously don't want to be, and you can do the same. Okay?

The boy didn't answer; instead, he moved out of the seats that Lily and her newfound friends were sitting in and into the next set of seats. Fabian tried to get things to be back to the way they had been before, but was simply too angry with Sirius to engage in normal conversation. Sirius's dark-haired cousinÑLily assumed that she was the Andromeda whom Sirius was afraid to defyÑcame back for him shortly and dragged him back out of the compartment. Though Fabian looked relieved to have him leave, he still wasn't as talkative as he had been before. A few more people passed through their compartment, most stopping to talk to Lily's short-tempered friend, along with the snack trolley, from which Lily bought all the candy that seemed edible. Instructing Lily on which candy to buy got Fabian in a better mood, but he still wasn't as open as he was before.

About half an hour before they would arrive at Hogwarts, Fabian left, telling Lily and Remus that he had to get his stuff and that they should change into their school robes. The two first years grabbed their robes and took to opposite sides of the train, hiding behind the seats so that the other couldn't see themÑnot that he or she was looking, anyway. Lily had tried on her robes countless times while at home, and was glad to be able to wear them now for a purpose.

The train soon stopped after that, and Lily and Remus got off onto the platform. Lily stuck to him, as he was the only one that she knew, besides Sirius, and Lily wasn't about to go find with him. She was just about to wonder where to go from there until she heard a gruff voice above the crowd.

"Okay, firs' years, follow me! Firs' years! Firs' years, follow me!

The voice belonged to the biggest man Lily had ever seen. He had to be over seven feet tall, Lily was sure. His hair and his beard were one, flying all over the place in the wind, which seemed much fiercer up there than it was at Lily's height. Lily and Remus followed the giantÑwho introduced himself as ÔHagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts', whatever that meantÑdown a path and, eventually, to a large lake at the other side of which sat an immense castle.

Lily gasped along with the rest of the first years at its beauty and sheer incredibility. The lights in the windows of the castle sparkled, making it seem even more like a fairy tale than it was before.

"An' tha'," said Hagrid, "Is Hogwarts. Okay, ge' into the boats! N'more than four in each one!

The children scrambled to get into their boats. Lily and Remus, almost the only ones left, joined a group of two girls, one who looked like a mouse and the other with frizzy brown hair. As Hagrid gave the command, the boats began to move, to Lily's awe. The frizzy-haired girl, Maggie Sullivan (also Muggle-born), shared her wonder.

Following the trip across the silent waters of the lakeÑwhich didn't take as long as Lily thought it would; the lake looked so big before! Ñthe students traveled through a curtain of vines hanging over a cave's entrance. Soon after their entry, the boats stopped at a shore of pebbles and they got off. Hagrid lead them down yet another path and, finally, they came to a staircase, on which the top sat a door.

Hagrid knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a strict-looking woman with glasses on the tip of her nose. Lily felt an aura of respect around her, and quickly took to the woman.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid proudly.

"Thank you, Hagrid. Follow me," said Professor McGonagall (whom Lily remembered as the woman who Fabian said not to anger) as though this was ritual. Hagrid quickly stepped aside, and the first years followed Professor McGonagall through a large room which Lily thought to be the entrance hall and into a much smaller room right off it.

"Welcome," said Professor McGonagall, and the minute she spoke all the students' conversations stopped. "To Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat will sort each of you into your houses, and after you are Sorted Professor Dumbledore will make a few announcements and the beginning of term feast will begin. During the Sorting, the Sorting Hat will pick one of four houses for you: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Each house is special in its own way, has its own abilities, no matter what anyone else will tell you.

There was a snickering of ÔHufflepuff' through the crowd, and Professor McGonagall glared at those who were talking. They fell silent. The teacher resumed her speech.

"While at Hogwarts, you will either earn or lose points for your HouseÑearn if you do something worthy of merit, lose if you disobey one of the rules. At the end of each year, the House who has the most points will win the House Cup. We hope that you will do your House good by only earning points, not losing them.

"You will be Sorted into your respective Houses within a few minutes. Please take this time to try to look acceptable to the rest of Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall spun on her heel and left the room.

Lily tried to comb through her hair with her fingers, but she instead just made it frizzier than before. Remus was smoothing out his robes and hair obsessively.

Finally, Professor McGonagall returned and, once she got them to stand in a line, led them to a room even greater than the one she had first been taken in. She stared at the five long tablesÑfour of which were occupied by students, the last by the teachersÑand the amount of students who were staring at her and her fellow first years as they made their way through the hall.

On top of the tables, Lily noticed, sat many cups and plates, all a brilliant gold. So many candles lit the hall that she couldn't even begin to count them all. As they reached the front of the room, Maggie Sullivan, who was behind Lily, tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, "Look!" She pointed at the ceiling, and Lily was filled with more astonishment than she had all day.

The ceiling of Hogwarts' Great Hall didn't seem to be a ceiling at allÑin fact, Lily now felt like she was in a room that didn't have one. The night sky was right above them, looking exactly as it did when they had been outside, down to the last distant star. Lily gasped as a shooting star passed right overhead.

"Aw, look!" murmured Maggie excitedly. "It's that constellation that dad taught me last nightÑwhassit calledÑA something or other. Oh, I know it! AccisÑAquaÑAttica

"It's ÔAquila'," whispered a regal voice behind them that Lily recognized as Sirius'. "I know because my uncle is named that," he said smugly.

"Why's your uncle named that?" asked Maggie pointedly. "That's an odd name.

"All Blacks are named after the things in the heavens. That's what sets us apart from other, lower members of society. Mother told me so," said Sirius, obviously trying to sound important and not succeeding at all.

"Your family's weird," decided Maggie. Sirius looked as if he was about to punch her when a voice said behind them, "Ssh! You're not supposed to be talking during the Sorting Hat's Song!

The three of them quickly fell quiet and listened toÑa talking hat? Lily would have found this extremely odd if she had not already encountered so many odd things that day.

_"ÑAnd of course there's old Slytherin_

_Greatest in his day_

_Slytherins are cunning, yes_

_And will try to get their way._

_But no matter if you get into_

_Gryffindor or Ravenclaw,_

_Hufflepuff or Slytherin_

_I certainly won't make a flaw!_

_The gift bestowed upon myself_

_Has never yet gone wrong_

_So, young students, don't get a scare!_

_Come and put me on!"_

Professor McGonagall waited until the clapping of the rest of the school had died down before she started reading the names off a list she had in her hand.

"Ackerman, Robert!

A tall, dark-haired boy walked awkwardly toward the Sorting Hat, who, after a few moments, pronounced him a "RAVENCLAW!" One of the tables burst into applause, and Lily began to feel nervous.

"Well, let's see," Fabian had told her and on the subject of the Houses. "Ravenclaw's for the really smart people. GryffindorÑthat's my HouseÑis for those who are brave and stuff like that. HufflepuffÑwell, no offence to anyone who's in Hufflepuff, but they really only put you there if you don't fit into anywhere else. You're supposed to be really loyal and hard working, though. And then there's Slytherin. Slytherin's mainly for evil people, or purebloods; you're supposed to have ambition and be really cunning, but most Slytherins are just stupid.

Lily felt like she would definitely be a Hufflepuff.

"Baker, Elizabeth!

"HUFFLEPUFF!

"Black, Sirius!

There was a murmur throughout the already seated students, especially those at the table that Lily had identified as the Slytherin one. The dark-haired girl who had left Sirius in their compartment before was there, looking at her cousin smugly. Next to her was another dark-haired girl whom Lily assumed to be the one that Andromeda was fighting with before. Lily turned her attention back to Sirius.

The Hat was taking a long time with him; various students began to yawn. Finally, in a declaration that had such certainty that Lily didn't think anyone would defy its decision, the Sorting Hat placed Sirius as a:

"GRYFFINDOR!

The hall went so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Unlike the other students, who had quickly taken off the Hat and ran to their new House's table, Sirius sat frigid on the stool until Professor McGonagall, who seemed as shocked as the rest of the room, took the Hat off his head and carefully but firmly pushed him off the seat and pointed to his new table. Sirius walked over there as if in a daze, and sat at a corner that no one had occupied yet.

"Closson, Anita!

"RAVENCLAW!

"Clowes, William!

"HUFFLEPUFF!

"Dabney, Gabriel!

"SLYTHERIN!

"Evans, Lily!

Lily took a deep breath and made her way towards the stool. She sat on it, and Professor McGonagall lowered the hat onto her head. She wondered what she was supposed to do until the Sorting Hat spoke in her head.

Hm, what have we hereÉ said the Hat. Knowledge, yes, a lot of it, and a hard worker too, loyal to whichever cause you pickÉ but not a Hufflepuff, I see. Ah, but you have courage! You are able to stand and think logically in the face of dangerÑyou are able to stand up for what you believe in. You are capable of many thingsÉ yes, I'd say you are a GRYFFINDOR!

_Thank you,_ thought Lily, and took her place a few seats away from Sirius, who obviously didn't want to sit next to anyone. She waved at Fabian, and he gave her a thumb's up and a mouthed Ôgood job!

The next person to join her was a girl named Abigail Kinghorn with a bright pink hair tie, and the same mousy girl who had shared a boat with Lily. Next, to Lily's joy, was Remus Lupin. After Remus came two boys named Peter Pettigrew and James Potter, who seemed delighted to be in the same House as one another, and Maggie Sullivan, whom Sirius glared at. A lot of conversations were started up as the last person"Zachary, Michael!," a HufflepuffÑbut most ended as a man Lily assumed was the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, stood up and cleared his throat.

"Welcome, students, to yet another year at Hogwarts!" said the old man who had the longest beard that Lily had ever seen. "I know that you are all hungry, so I will not bother you will announcements that can wait until after you have eaten your fill. Eat!

Food appeared on the golden plates in front of them as Lily's stomach grumbledÑshe hadn't realized that she was that hungry before, and was glad for the large amount of things to eat now right in front of her. She ate more than she had ever eaten before, occasionally commenting on the conversation going on between Maggie and Abigail Kinghorn, the girl with the hair-tie, who insisted on everyone calling her ÔAbigail and not Abby!.' This prompted James, one of the boys, to call her that for the rest of the feast, something that both he and Peter thought extremely funny while Lily just thought it pathetic. Remus wasn't talking much, even though Lily tried to get him involved in a few conversations. Lily finally wrote him off as someone who didn't like to talk, though he had on the train, and continued her conversation with the two girls.

Finally, after Lily didn't think she could eat one more bite, the food on the plates disappeared and the Headmaster stood up again.

"As always, I have a few announcements for yourselves. The Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests, forbidden to all students. No magic should be used in the hallways. The entire list of prohibited items here at Hogwarts is located outside the office of our caretaker, Mr. Filch, for those who find interest in that." Lily made a note to make sure that she didn't have anything prohibited. Also, this year we have a new arrival on our school groundsÑthe Whomping Willow. I suggest that students stay away from the Whomping Willow, as it will live up to its name. And that concludes our start-of-term announcements. Now, to bed!

So much chattering filled the hall as everyone got up to go to their beds that Lily could only barely hear a familiar male voice yelling, "Gryffindor first years, follow me please! Gryffindor first years, over here!

Lily traced the voice to a boy who looked exactly like Fabian except for his hair being neatly combed and a large badge on the front of his robes which read ÔPrefect". Lily's supposed it was Fabian's brother.

"My name is Gideon Prewett," said Fabian's twin. "And this"Ñhe pointed to the grumpy looking girl next to him"is Anna Buckingham. We're, er, Prefects, and we've come to take you to your first night at Gryffindor tower. Please follow us.

Gideon and Anna lead them through so many odd passageways and stairwells that Lily couldn't even begin to remember them all. The stairs, though, were what amazed her the mostÑthey actually changed places. Lily had seen escalators at malls and such at home, but never something as odd as that.

When Lily pointed out the third moving stairwell, Sirius, who had been quietly sulking all dinner, finally burst. "We don't care about the stairs, Evans! They got boring after the first time they moved!

Lily, who was really starting to get rather tired, was taken aback, and her temper flared. "Who said that we cared what you thought? I haven't seen stairs move before, and I think it's fascinating, so just leave me alone and go find someone else to bother!

Sirius clenched his fists. "Fine, I will, Mudblood.

Chaos erupted. James Potter, who had seemed rather carefree, if not annoyingly so, before hand, punched Sirius in the stomach, saying, "You don't call anyone that, Black!" Abigail Kinghorn screeched at Sirius to go join the Slytherins because he wasn't wanted here. The small girl tripped over Peter Pettigrew's foot while trying to back away from the fight, and he fell on top of her and eventually tripped Remus as well. Lily also tried to get away from them, but Sirius punched her on the shoulder and she slapped him back (It was surprising to her how good that felt.) And no one paid attention to Maggie, who wanted to know what a ÔMudblood' was.

"STOP IT, STOP IT, _STOP IT!_" yelled Gideon, finally breaking James and Sirius up, though only after they had each gotten a bruised eye and James a bloody nose. "Honestly, I try to be nice to you and I try to be a good Prefect but all you do is mess it all up!" He pointed at the two boys who had been fighting. "Twenty points off Gryffindor for fighting, each. And you, the redhead"Ñhe was now pointing at Lily herself"fifteen points off for fighting during it. And the rest of you"Ñhe glared at Remus, Abigail, Aiden and Peter"ten points off for being bystanders.

"Oh, come on, Gideon, he insulted her! It's just a fight," said the girl Prefect sleepily. "Let them go for it, let them just all go to bed.

Gideon fumed. "If I followed the rules, I would be taking more off and they would all get detentions! I'm letting you off easy, first years! And I'm not going to be this nice again." His face had gone completely red, just like Fabian's when Sirius had insulted her.

As Gideon stomped his way up to Gryffindor tower with a bunch of scared first years and a sleepy Anna Buckingham at his tail, Lily was trying to control both her rage and her embarrassment. It was a privilege for her to go to HogwartsÑshe actually felt like she fit in to this society. That she had just lost pointsÑfor fighting, and on her first day, no lessÑmade her as paranoid as ever; would Hogwarts now throw her out? Would all the teachers hate her? She hoped not.

Gideon finally stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady. "This," he said, obviously still trying to control his temper, "Is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

"Password?" said the lady. Though she had seen moving pictures and the like at Diagon Alley, Lily still jumped when the portrait talked.

"Holyhead Harpies," said Gideon, rolling his eyes. The painting swung open like a door on a hinge and let the first years in.

"This is the Gryffindor common room," said Gideon, standing in the middle of a room decorated mostly in scarlet and gold and filled with lots of chairs. Lily wanted to just plop herself in one and go to sleep. "This stairway leads to the boy's dormitories, and this one to the girl's." He waved to each set of stairs.

Dragging herself up the stairs behind Anna Buckingham, Lily was glad to see that her trunk was already in her room and quickly took off her Hogwarts robes, folding them, and putting on her pajamas. None of the girls, not even the usually talkative Maggie, said anything as they got into their bedsÑthey were too tired to. Yawning widely, Lily pulled the soft velvet covers up to her chin and got comfortable.

_Well,_ she thought as she drifted off to sleep. _This is going to be a long seven years._


End file.
